Assemblymember Cahill Helps to Pass Assembly Hydrofracking Moratorium

March 6, 2013

Albany, NY – Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D – Ulster, Dutchess) voted today to pass legislation which would prohibit the issuing of permits for new wells that utilize the hydraulic fracturing process to extract natural gas in places such as the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations until at least May 2015. The bill, A. 5424, is sponsored by Chair of the Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation, Robert Sweeney, and co-sponsored by Assemblymember Cahill. In addition to requiring the Department of Environmental Conservation to suspend permit issuance, this legislation also calls for a health impact assessment to be conducted by a school of public health within the State University of New York.

“It became evident during our budget hearings that the review currently being done by the New York State Department of Health is inadequate for the protection of New Yorkers. This legislation will create New York centered studies, taking into account our unique geology and water resources and also capitalize on the experience in other states,” said Assemblymember Cahill.

The Health Impact Assessment required by this bill will be carried out using a model recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and will identify and assess the magnitude, nature and extent of potential localized and statewide health consequences. It will also estimate the cost of these impacts to the state, local governments, heath insurers, employers, and the state’s public and private health care systems.

“Now is the time to be cautious,” Assemblymember Cahill said. “This legislation will give professionals the time they need to assess the true public health and environmental effects of a process which has the potential to harm families, businesses, agriculture, and food and water supplies. Not only will this legislation provide New Yorkers with the information they need to assess the safety of hydraulic fracturing, but it will also extend the time for the public to review the DEC’s Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement once it is released.

“It is vital that we take serious precautions before moving forward with this complex procedure. I will continue to adhere to the overwhelming reaction of our citizens to consider all possible environmental impacts that drilling may have on the land, water, air quality, and the health of New York State and look forward to passing this important legislation.

“I support clean water and am committed to undertaking studies and enacting regulations that will keep our watersheds unpolluted. I want to insure that if hydraulic fracturing were ever to take place in New York State, that it would be done safely and that the Department of Environmental Conservation would be properly equipped to carry out their duties.”

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